The Nature and Motives of Religiosity in an Atheistic State (on the Example of Scientific Research Conducted in Soviet Ukraine)

Abstract

This article analyzes methods for studying the nature and motives of religiosity of the population in the context of ideologically tinged academic science. The academic scientific approach to the studied branch, in this case, the religiosity of the population, ensured a large array of empirical material and the possibility to classify and structure it. This enriched the science of religion with new facts. The idea that religiosity could be overcome with the help of fundamental educational and scientific propaganda was refuted by data on the development of religiosity in the territory of Soviet Ukraine. The shortcoming of dominance of ideology in scientific research is revealed. The study of the phenomenon of religiosity led to false ideological conclusions about the backwardness of the religious worldview, and of the alleged spiritual poverty of a religious person in comparison with the bearer of an atheistic, scientific worldview.